Toshiba gift to fund stroke research center

By LOIS BAKER
News Services Editor

Toshiba has provided the most advanced equipment extant to help researchers develop and perfect new minimally invasive neurovascular surgery techniques using ultra-high-tech image-guidance technology.

"Minimally invasive procedures will dominate surgery in the 21st century," said L. Nelson Hopkins, M.D., director of the new center. "Tomorrow's neurovascular technology will be developed, tested and perfected here. We know of no other research center with comparable equipment and capabilities."

A pioneer in the area of endovascular surgery, chair of UB's Department of Neurosurgery and chief of neurosurgery for the Millard Fillmore Health System, Hopkins was instrumental in developing the new partnership with Toshiba.

He said successful new surgical techniques developed at the Toshiba Stroke Research Center will be transferable directly to treatment and prevention of stroke in humans. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and the number one cause of adult disability.

Toshiba also is providing funding to support graduate student stipends and an exchange program between Japanese and UB researchers.

UB President William R. Greiner said of the new center:"This new stroke research center will capitalize on all the best strengths of UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences-pioneering research, outstanding clinical care and exceptional teaching.

"Dr. Hopkins is a great example of all three," Greiner added. "He is a superb medical educator, clinician and researcher, and he is a leader in the Western New York medical community at large. His work has gained him international recognition.

"We are absolutely delighted to have Toshiba as a partner in this center. With an international corporate leader like Toshiba generously supporting the work of a first-class researcher and surgeon like Dr. Hopkins, we think that's a recipe for success. Most importantly, the creation of this center promises better health and fuller recovery for millions of people. And we think that's the real success."

The Toshiba Stroke Research Center is housed on the fourth floor of UB's new Biomedical Research Building on the South Campus. Installation of the equipment was aided by a grant from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, which helped offset the cost of essential structural alterations. Another grant from an anonymous donor will help cover operating expenses.

The angiographic equipment includes positioners and focus tubes, cameras, digital video recorders and interfaces, generators, computer software and workstations.

Jeffrey T. Dillon, sales manager with Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc., said Toshiba "is honored to be part of this new exciting research venture with the University at Buffalo."

The international firm's "interest and involvement (in the stroke research center) is in direct response to Dr. Hopkins and his team's clinical expertise, commitment and research."

Stroke researchers at the center will concentrate primarily, but not exclusively, on developing and perfecting minimally invasive endovascular surgical procedures. This approach involves accessing abnormalities of the brain through the blood vessels, rather than by opening up the skull.

Hopkins is one of the foremost experts in endovascular surgery and recently was a lead researcher in clinical trials of the Guglielmi Detachable Coil, the first product to receive approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for treating patients with intracranial aneurysms that are considered inoperable or very-high-risk for traditional surgery.

John P. Naughton, M.D., UB vice president for clinical affairs and dean of the UB medical school, said the school is "pleased and honored" that Toshiba America Medical Systems made such a significant contribution during the celebration of the school's sesquicentennial year and that of the university.

"The Toshiba gift will enable the school, through the leadership of Dr. Hopkins, to establish a major interdisciplinary center that will develop fundamentals for the treatment of patients with stroke, and, hopefully, improve the quality of life for patients in the years ahead," he said.

"The school also is thankful to the Wendt Foundation for its support of, and confidence in, this new center."

Several UB clinical departments and basic-science disciplines will collaborate in the stroke research. Major collaborators have formed the Neurovascular Research Affinity Group, involving the departments of Neurosurgery, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Radiation, Physics and Computer Science. Other researchers will come from surface science, clinical engineering and neurology.

The facility also will be used by researchers developing new treatments for conditions other than stroke, and will be an educational center for students from UB and around the globe.

"We will pursue investigations in neuroangiography and endovascular therapy for stroke, image optimization with radiation-dose reduction, flow analysis and device development," Hopkins said. "Further, since any area of the body can be accessed through the vascular system, other departments, such as Cardiology, Surgery and Radiology, will have the option of conducting studies using the Toshiba angiographic equipment."

Hopkins said the educational potential of the facility is virtually limitless.

"We currently offer working courses in endovascular techniques for treatment of experimental aneurysms. The Toshiba Stroke Research Center will enable us to expand and diversify our offerings, attracting course participants from around the globe. The flow of personnel and information between the center and Asia, other international research centers and the U.S. will offer unique educational opportunities to UB students and faculty and the Western New York research community at large."

UB researchers expect to begin work in the new center in February 1997.